Maryland football hits the road for the first time this season as the Terps gear up for a matchup against the winless Charlotte 49ers.
In their season opener at home on Saturday, the Terps struck first and led the rest of the way, dismantling Buffalo, 31-10.
The first road trip of the season will provide an early test for the Terps, but if Mike Locksley had his way, Maryland would play this game in College Park.
“In a perfect world, I think Maryland should be playing Charlotte here at home if we could,” Locksley said. “Unfortunately, these schedules are 10, 20 years out. I don’t even know if I’ll get to see my schedule.”
Regardless of the venue, the Terps will look to build on their week one victory and clean up some errors as the season continues to unfold. Despite the Terps leading for 57 minutes against the Bulls, they were not free of mishaps.
2022 Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Watch List honoree Taulia Tagovailoa was far from perfect against the Bulls. The redshirt junior finished week one 24-34 for 290 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception.
“There’s plenty of things that we can still get cleaned up, and usually you see your biggest jump as a team from week one to week two,” Locklsey said.
What did work well for Maryland in week one was its rushing attack, despite entering the 2022 campaign with question marks following the graduation of 2021 rushing yards leader Tayon Fleet-Davis. Redshirt freshman Roman Hemby stole the show early with a statement 33-yard rushing touchdown on his first carry of the day. Hemby then opened the second half with a 70-yard rush to the house, his second touchdown of the day.
Hemby finished with 114 yards on just seven carries, a 16.3 yard-per-rush clip.
Hemby and the rest of the Maryland running back group should find success against a lackluster Charlotte defense. The 49ers allowed 218 and 303 rushing yards in their first two games, allowing an average of 5.4 yards per carry.
The 49ers defense hasn’t fared much better against the pass. Charlotte gave up over 250 passing yards in each of its first two games and has yet to record an interception, setting up Tagovailoa for a potential bounce-back week.
“They like to blitz a lot in different areas of the field,” Tagovailoa said. “We gotta find ways to run the ball, throw the ball, whatever it takes to score and come out victorious.”
Charlotte has been unable to come out victorious in either of its first two games this season, and it hasn’t really been close. The 49ers fell 43-13 against Florida Atlantic in their season opener before dropping their home opener last weekend against William & Mary, 41-24.
The 49ers have used a trio of arms in their two games, leaving the Terps with a relative question mark in regards to the starter on Saturday. Charlotte started redshirt senior Chris Reynolds in its opener against the Owls, but an upper body injury suffered against FAU kept him out for the matchup against William & Mary.
Texas A&M transfer James Foster got the nod in week two, but an injury to his throwing hand suffered late in the first quarter led to redshirt freshman Xavier Williams handling quarterbacking duties the rest of the way. Williams played well off the bench, throwing for 201 yards while rushing for 48 more and two touchdowns on the ground.
Charlotte has struggled moving the ball on the ground, as the 49ers are averaging just 3.2 yards-per-carry. The 49ers’ leading rusher, redshirt sophomore Shadrick Byrd, is averaging a tick better than the team average in that category (3.6).
“The big thing for us is trying to figure out who the quarterback is going to be,” Locksley said. “They’ve got a transfer running back from Iowa [Byrd] … [he’s] a big-time playmaker.”
The game on Saturday will start at 3:30 p.m. and will take place at Jerry Richardson Stadium in Charlotte.
